Keeping Up With Technology

MATERIAL HANDLING: Bulk-Bag Filler Built for Safety

By:
Staff
Report
from
Plastics Technology

From:
Plastics Technology
Issue:
May
2016

Swing-down fill head pivots to operator at floor level.

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A new Rear-Post Bulk Bag Filler from Flexicon, Bethlehem, Pa., features a patented Swing-Down fill head that pivots to the operator at floor level for safe, ergonomic spout connections, and a low-profile loading deck that allows removal of filled bags using a pallet jack.

The cantilevered fill head pivots downward to a vertical orientation that places the inflatable bag spout seal, inflator button, and four bag loop latches within an arm's length of an operator standing on the plant floor, eliminating the need to climb steps, strain or risk injury associated with overhead connections to conventional fill heads.

Once the operator connects the bag straps and activates the inflatable bag spout collar, the filler automatically pivots the fill head to horizontal, inflates the bag to remove creases, and activates a flow control inlet valve or feed conveyor. As load cells register the gain in weight, the controller raises and vibrates the loading deck at programmed intervals to densify material and promote flow into bottom corners of the bag. Once the bag reaches its target weight, the controller automatically stops the flow of incoming material, deflates the bag spout collar and releases the bag straps, allowing the filled bag to be removed using a pallet jack or forklift.

A patented mechanism automatically resets the latch after releasing the bag loops, and repositions it as the fill head pivots into a vertical position, enabling the latch to receive bag loops inserted by an operator and to re-latch automatically.

The filler is constructed of carbon steel with a durable industrial coating, with product contact surfaces of stainless steel finished to sanitary or industrial standards, and is offered with mechanical or pneumatic conveyors to source material from upstream process equipment or storage vessels.